The Interview

If you would have told me, six years ago,  that Collin Moshman would be interviewing me for PokerStrategy’s website, I would have laughed right in your face.

Moshman?  Collin Moshman?  The author of several successful SNG books?  That guy?  Interviewing me?  Yeah, right.  Sure thing.  But lo and behold, on Wednesday afternoon, it happened.

The headline is somewhat misleading though, albeit not intentional.  We simply didn’t get to talking about SuperNova Elite because there were too many other questions and/or I rambled on too much.  I had that issue at the border, actually — I like to give extremely thorough answers.  Sometimes, it’s too much but hopefully in this case, the audience enjoyed it.  The episode should be posted in the next few days, but for now here are some things I remember talking about:

  • My history/start in poker
  • Negativity among fellow regs and how it stunts their development
  • Favorite place(s) I’ve lived
  • General strategy

And for my ‘piece de resistance,’ I discussed my disappointment with PokerStars and their growing trend of selecting unqualified women as ‘Team Pros.’  I’m not sure how that will be received within the poker community, but it’s surely the topic most likely to spark some debate.  My basic point is this: Pros should be chosen based on poker ability, not how symmetrical their face (and other assets) might be.  I fully understand that PokerStars is looking to grow the game, but fail to see how that will possibly happen by choosing a ‘hot chick’ to represent their brand.  If anything, it will alienate the overwhelming percentage of women without super model looks and  reinforce the stigma that poker is a man’s game.  Furthermore, it won’t grow the game among men unless there’s a large contingent of men out there who so desperate to see a picture of a beautiful woman that they’ll deposit money on an online poker site in hopes that one day they can grab a seat next her.  Well, her avatar.

As I said on the stream, my rant likely shut the door on any chance of me ever becoming a PokerStars Pro, but I thought it was important to use that platform speak out on an important matter, despite how controversial my view might be.  When the episode becomes available I’ll surely spam it across all forms of social media including here, Twitter, Facebook, etc.  Might even get a Tumblr account although I have no idea what that’s used for.  Pinterest?

Oh, and despite being interviewed by Moshman, something I felt was ‘super neat,’ it wasn’t even the best part of my day.  A few hours later, I binked a second 100x $60 Spin and Go and shipped it for $6,000.